Western Sahara marathon is message of peace, way to fight

SPS28/02/2017 - 20:46

Smara (Sahrawi refugee camps), February 28, 2017 (SPS) - The international Western Sahara marathon, which kicked off Tuesday, in the province of Al Ayun (Refugee camps) is a bearer of deep meanings in the Sahrawi people’s revolutionary journey.

It is both “a message of peace from the Sahrawi people to the world,” and “a battle front for freedom,” said the Sahrawi minister of Youth and Sports Ahmed Lahbib.

“The Western Sahara marathon is a way to fight for us Sahrawis, as a new resistance front by which we make our cause known to the entire world and strengthen the sphere of international solidarity which continues to grow worldwide,” said the Sahrawi minister at the end of the launch of this sporting event organized under the slogan “All refugees.”

“The marathon is an exceptional sporting event because it is the only marathon in the world organized in the refugee camps. The editions of this event experience an ever-growing participation which exceeds, this year, 500 runners from the five continents, including athletes that won titles in international competitions,” said Lahbib.

All these signs show that this marathon is starting “to show results, considering the extent and the quality of this participation,” said the Sahrawi official, underlining that this event’s goal is to raise public awareness regarding the Sahrawi people and their fight.

It is also an opportunity for foreign participants to be around the Sahrawi population and get to know their living conditions and their sufferings, said Lahbib. SPS